Before I left the lower 48 my older brother decided that I needed to be prepared for surviving the Alaskan wild. So we watched an episode of Man vs. Wild where Bear Grylls conquered glaciers, forests, raging rivers, and inevitably ate something disgusting. Because of this training I was sufficiently prepared for my adventure this weekend. We were going to climb a mountain near camp but we woke up Friday morning and it was cloudy so we didn't since there wouldn't be a view from the top. (I'm all about enjoying the journey but the rest of the group wasn't willing to inflict personal pain without reason). Instead we decided to canoe and kayak to a waterfall. Thirty people showed up on the front beach ready to board our vessels- 6 kayaks and 9 canoes- for a 3 hour tour. It was about an hour paddle across the bay to the cove by the waterfall. My paddling partner sang the entire soundtrack from Pocahontas which seemed appropriate. We did see some whales across the channel. We usually see quite a few whales in the area we were paddling through and canoes don't make for the best close-up whale watching. Once we arrived we dragged all the boats up the beach since tide was coming in. We then hike a short distance up to a waterfall. We bushwhacked through Devil's club- this is a plant with prickles all over so you don't want to get too close. I learned this from Man vs. Wild and personal experience. We climbed above the falls and crossed the creek on a log that spanned it. About half way across all of us were wondering what we were doing on a log 6 feet over a freezing rushing stream with 20 feet of log to go still. I was just hoping my rubber boots didn't slip. The waterfall was impressive. If I were Bear Grylls I would have tried climbing down the wet rock face covered with moss or just jump form the top and get soaking wet but a 30ft fall into rock and rushing water didn't seem that appealing. We trekked back to the beach and began heading back to camp. We had some amazing rhubarb bars for dessert from lunch that I had stashed in my pocket so I enjoyed it- much better than eating reindeer liver as suggested on Man vs. Wild.
While we were at the falls the wind picked up and tide same in so there were white caps forming on the water. We were going to have to paddle back into the wind and waves. I was in a kayak for the way back and we just got to the edge of the cove ready to round the corner into the bay but decided to turn back since canoes don't handle ocean waves very well. Anytime a group of 30 20-something year olds who are adrenaline junkies get together we are all looking for adventure but we did have enough sense to stop before we ran into hypothermia out on the ocean (do you feel better now Mom?). We radioed camp and the glorious Blondina (the camp's freight boat) came and loaded all of us stranded paddlers up. We were also able to get all the canoes on board as well. Going back we were crossing 3 ft swells which made for a bumpy ride and I think everyone was thankful not to be in those waves in our metal canoes. Our trip ended happily as we arrived back at camp just in time to eat grilled chicken for supper.
Before I left the lower 48 my older brother decided that I needed to be prepared for surviving the Alaskan wild. So we watched an episode of Man vs. Wild where Bear Grylls conquered glaciers, forests, raging rivers, and inevitably ate something disgusting. Because of this training I was sufficiently prepared for my adventure this weekend. We were going to climb a mountain near camp but we woke up Friday morning and it was cloudy so we didn't since there wouldn't be a view from the top. (I'm all about enjoying the journey but the rest of the group wasn't willing to inflict personal pain without reason). Instead we decided to canoe and kayak to a waterfall. Thirty people showed up on the front beach ready to board our vessels- 6 kayaks and 9 canoes- for a 3 hour tour. It was about an hour paddle across the bay to the cove by the waterfall. My paddling partner sang the entire soundtrack from Pocahontas which seemed appropriate. We did see some whales across the channel. We usually see quite a few whales in the area we were paddling through and canoes don't make for the best close-up whale watching. Once we arrived we dragged all the boats up the beach since tide was coming in. We then hike a short distance up to a waterfall. We bushwhacked through Devil's club- this is a plant with prickles all over so you don't want to get too close. I learned this from Man vs. Wild and personal experience. We climbed above the falls and crossed the creek on a log that spanned it. About half way across all of us were wondering what we were doing on a log 6 feet over a freezing rushing stream with 20 feet of log to go still. I was just hoping my rubber boots didn't slip. The waterfall was impressive. If I were Bear Grylls I would have tried climbing down the wet rock face covered with moss or just jump form the top and get soaking wet but a 30ft fall into rock and rushing water didn't seem that appealing. We trekked back to the beach and began heading back to camp. We had some amazing rhubarb bars for dessert from lunch that I had stashed in my pocket so I enjoyed it- much better than eating reindeer liver as suggested on Man vs. Wild. 
No comments:
Post a Comment